Sony ICD-MX20DR9 32MB Flash-Based Digital Voice Recorder

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 1.2 x 4.2 inches ; 1.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000N29LAK
• Item model number: Sony
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,331 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Sony is aiming to make it easier to remember all of those little details with a new line of digital voice recorders designed for, consumers, professionals, and academics. The Sony ICD-MX20DR9 Digital Voice Recorder is compact and easy to carry where ever your travels may take with you--from the office to an assignment off the beaten path.

Some key features of the ICD-SX57 include:

• Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred Voice to Print Software: to easily convert your recorded files into text.
• Hybrid Storage: 32MB Flash³/Memory Stick PRO Duo Media Slot^4: records dictation on built-in Flash Memory or compact, high capacity Memory Stick media, and allows recorded cards for easy distributed for processing; different Memory Sticks in capacities ranging from 32MB to 512MB can be inserted into the unit for different applications⁴
• New STLP Stereo Recording Mode: Up to 2 Hours 45 Minutes² Recording Time: Offering a longer recording time while maintaining 2-channel recording.
• Over 300 Personalized Folders: on each Memory Stick media provides the ability to organize message folders by type, such as Sales Letters, Customer Service Replies, Memos, Action Items, Personal, and more, offering the ultimate in Efficiency and versatility.
• Built-in Stereo and Directional Microphones: for extra convenience, eliminates the need for an external microphone.
• USB 2.0¹ Compatible: via USB Port on a PC.
• Digital Voice Up and VOR (Voice Operated Recording) Functions: stops the recording during silent pauses, saving valuable recording time, then begins recording again without missing a single syllable thanks to the Digital Buffer.
• Recording Monitor Function: Allows the user to listen to the recording level by using headphones while the unit is recording.

<sup>1. Not all products with USB 2.0 connectors may communicate with each other due to chipset variations.
2. Approximate recording times. Battery life will vary based upon usage conditions.
3. User available memory= 32,243,712 bytes (preliminary), a portion of which is used for data management functions, with default 5 folders setting. Total available space will be reduced as the number of folders increases.
4. Available storage capacity of Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo Media may vary. A portion of the memory is used for data management functions. Actual available memory is: 32MB=30MB, 64MB=61MB, 128MB=123MB, 256MB=220MB, 512MB=460MB, 1GB=940MB, 2GB=1.85GB, and 4GB=3.66GB
5. Actual user availble memory is approx. A portion is used for data management.</sup>

Product Description

Hybrid Storage: 32MB Flash/Memory Stick PRO Duo¿ Media Slot records dictation on built-in Flash Memory or compact, high capacity Memory Stick® media, and allows recorded cards for easy distributed for processing; different Memory Sticks in capacities ranging from 32MB to 512MB can be inserted into the unit for different applications.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Item Not As Described, February 29, 2008

By 

Islander (Seattle, Wa USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony ICD-MX20DR9 32MB Flash-Based Digital Voice Recorder (Office Product)

This is a great ICD that does a very accurate job of voice to text translation. However, the product does not come with Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred as described. Instead it comes with a very abbreviated lite version called Naturally Speaking Recorder Edition. You'll have to take advantage of a "special offer" from Nuance, fork over another $30 and reinstall the product to get the benefits of the Preferred edition. If you plan to dictate from a headset or use MS Word, you will want to upgrade.

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed with this product, January 5, 2008

By 

Robert Lopez (New Mexico USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony ICD-MX20DR9 32MB Flash-Based Digital Voice Recorder (Office Product)

I am disappointed in this product. Sony ICD-MX20DR9 32MB Flash-Based Digital Voice Recorder

This is the only Sony product I ever purchased that was disappointing to me.

I have two reasons I have been disappointed with it. The first is I have never found a combination of feature selections that allowed my to satisfactorily record a lecture in a classroom. If it was set sensitive enough to pick up the professor in front of me (a few feet away) it would pick up all the sounds of people shuffling papers, my breathing, my writing on the desk etc. If it was set less sensitive it would miss what the professor had to say. So, I never found any combination of settings that worked for my intended use. The second problem is I am not able to use the little joy-stick-button. It has five functions. It can be pushed up, right, down, left, or depressed. I am always having problems getting it to do what I intend to do. I have used a lot of devices like that and I never have had this problem. It has cost me accidental erasures, delays in starting recordings, and a lot of frustration.

I find even the "high quality" recording, which eats up a lot of memory, to be of poor quality.

I also misunderstood the way the Naturally Speaking 9 would work. I thought I could use it to transcribe my recorded notes. Wrong! It is only able to learn one voice. So I have worked with it to learn my voice and after months of use it still performs so poorly I spend more time correcting than if I just manually type to transcribe the recording. Since I have owned this unit, I have used several other DVR and I have liked them all better than this unit.

I do like the combination of skipping silents and fast play back. It is nice to be able to review an hour class in a fraction of the time.

I do like the computer connection convenience.

I would not advise it to anyone who wants it to record classroom lecturers.

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice little toy, July 24, 2007

By 

V. Sygen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony ICD-MX20DR9 32MB Flash-Based Digital Voice Recorder (Office Product)

It does everything well. The built-in microphone is very good quality. I also bought a 4 GB memory stick because the default memory is barely enough for a good quality two-hour recording.

I would have given it a five-star rating if it weren't for the fact that both the hardware and software (Digital Voice Editor 3.0) are not compatible with Windows Vista. They work fine with XP.

I hope that Sony would allow for upgrades of the software and hardware to Vista. It would go a long way toward building customer brand loyalty.